Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-06-12-Speech-3-158"
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"en.20020612.5.3-158"2
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"Mr President, I have been a member of this Chamber for seven years and am now making my last speech because I shall be a candidate for the Swedish Parliament this autumn.
The fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Europe constitute the most important issue in my political work. As rapporteur where Estonia is concerned, it feels good to be able to note that, finally, we shall now soon be there. Estonia, which has closed 26 of 31 chapters, has fulfilled all the necessary conditions for becoming a member of the EU in 2004.
Estonia shows how quickly a country which has freed itself from a long occupation and has restored democracy has also succeeded in completely reorienting its policies and building up a strong, market-oriented economy with well functioning institutions.
The Estonian economy has produced fantastic results, and 4.5% growth is anticipated this year. The Estonian kroon has been tied to the Deutschmark and, subsequently, the euro for almost ten years. When Estonia joins the EU, I hope that the country will continue its work in favour of less bureaucracy and better basic conditions for businesses. Estonia also has a belief in the future and a capacity for change that are needed by the EU.
During the Swedish Presidency, the Social Democratic Government spoke proudly of its timetable for enlargement. We do not, however, build the EU with plans alone. Timetables presuppose action. That is why it is disgraceful that Sweden is now putting the timetable at risk and making enlargement conditional upon agricultural policy.
Agricultural policy is actually being reformed, albeit modestly, and it is important that there should be radical changes. As the Council representative pointed out, those countries which are now using the agricultural chapter to delay the work on enlargement are assuming a big responsibility.
There can be nothing more important than that the EU honour its pledges and that the last chapter in the reunification of Europe be written in Copenhagen this autumn.
I want to express my congratulations to all those who have the privilege of working in the EU’s different institutions and to express my thanks for some very close cooperation in the course of the last few years."@en1
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